


Reflections_Shadows of a Sun

by FluffyPanda20



Series: To Defy The Shackles Of My Cursed Fate (Female_Naruto_Timetravel_fics) [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Bell Test, Betrayal, Broken System, Brothers, Canon Divergence, F/M, Found Family, Gen, Ghosts, Hurt and comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Konoha villagers are assholes, Minato fixes the system, Minato pranks the villagers, Nature, Parental Nara Shikaku, Parental Nara Yoshino, Politics, Pre-Canon, Pre-graduation, Supernatural - Freeform, The reason why Naruko is a mess, Uzumaki Naruko needs a hug, Yami Naruko, Yondaime is Konoha's newest nightmare, sick naruko
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:48:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23944978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FluffyPanda20/pseuds/FluffyPanda20
Summary: The changes and havoc Minato wreaks during the soul mergence period.OrMinato gets a taste of Naruko's life. Needless to say, he is not a happy camper.The second installment in 'To Defy the Shackles of My Cursed Fate' series. Takes place during the pre-graduation era and extends to the bell test.
Relationships: Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama & Namikaze Minato, Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina, Nara Shikaku/Nara Yoshino, Uzumaki Naruko and Hyuuga Hinata, Uzumaki Naruko and Konoha villagers, Uzumaki Naruko and Nara Shikaku, Uzumaki Naruko and Nara Shikamaru, Uzumaki Naruko and Nara Yoshino, Uzumaki Naruko and Umino Iruka
Series: To Defy The Shackles Of My Cursed Fate (Female_Naruto_Timetravel_fics) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1726123
Kudos: 5





	Reflections_Shadows of a Sun

**Author's Note:**

> "Forgive yourself for the blindness that put you in the path of those who betrayed you. Sometimes a good heart doesn't see the bad."~ Jen Lopez
> 
> Are you deranged like me?  
>  Are you strange like me?  
>  Lighting matches just to swallow up the flame like me?  
>  Do you call yourself a fucking hurricane like me?  
>  Pointing fingers 'cause you'll never take the blame like me?
> 
> And all the people say  
>  You can't wake up, this is not a dream  
>  You're part of a machine, you are not a human being  
>  With your face all made up, living on a screen  
>  Low on self-esteem, so you run on gasoline.
> 
> I think there's a flaw in my code  
>  These voices won't leave me alone  
>  Well, my heart is gold and my hands are cold.

_'Thoughts'_

**"Kurama/Bijuu speech..."**

_"Minato speaking..."_

_ 'Minato's thoughts' _

**_'Kurama/Bijuu Thoughts'_ ** _  
_

"Normal speech..."

Jutsu name...

_//Flashback...//_

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Recap: [Third-Person POV:]

_Placing the hand with the sun mark above the girl's navel he chanted the ancient spells that were required for the conclusion of the process and watched as the two humans disappeared before his very eyes, leaving nothing behind to indicate their existence in this barren world._

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Third Person POV:

All around him the world explodes into a blinding landscape of white. The very air around him trembles and shimmers with energy.

An invisible force seems to close around him, and then with a deafening roar ringing in his ears that Minato instinctively knew to be the rush of time, darkness engulfs him, yanking his last breath away and leaving him hanging cold.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

It feels like he is traveling at a speed of a million light-years. Everything around him is a blur. He can't move, can't scream, can't think, can't breathe. Pictures blur past him, too fast for him to comprehend and only one thought passes through his mind before he surrenders to the darkness-

If _this_ is how traveling through the time continuum felt like, then no wonder people were so terrified of using space-time Ninjutsu.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The pain is unimaginable, unbearable, and _horrible_.

It feels like his soul is being dissected. Pulled and taken apart, broken down to the smallest of particles and examined to the minutest of details. Only to be reassembled. Again and again and _again_ -

His body is screaming in agony. It feels as if all his pain receptors have been lit on fire. He wants to scream. He wants to die. He wants this pain to stop. It's too much. So really no one can blame him when he welcomes unconsciousness with open arms.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

16 days before graduation. 00:00 hours. Sunday. Naruko's apartment.

Inside the seal

He wakes up to suffocating darkness. His body floating on icy water. 

Time passes by and he makes no attempt to move because he is just so _tired_ and his mind is still reeling from the fact that – holy shinigami's nose hair _it worked!_

But years of ingrained shinobi instincts don't disappear overnight. So he ignores his body's protests and extends his senses, cataloging his new surroundings, and searching for any possible dangers and threats. 

Finding none in his immediate vicinity he closes his eyes, takes a deep breath – the air is humid, saturated with water and chakra, he absently notes- and releases it softly.

When he opens his eyes the light around him is dim, but much better than before.

He heaves a breath, it's slow and raspy around the edges. He places his hands on his knees and pushes himself up on shaky legs.

 _'Take stock of the situation'_ , his mind reminds him.

He squints his eyes and looks around in the darkness around him. His fists are clenched and near his side, his body stiff, and even if his senses are muddled he knows that his reaction time is good enough, that should the need arise he would be able to dodge any threats. 

It's only after 3 minutes have passed by that he realizes that he is standing in a rundown sewer system. There is no stench but there is icy water around his feet and multiple pipes running horizontally along the length of the walls carrying what was obviously the different chakras present in Naruko's system.

He looks down at the ankle-deep water and narrows his eyes at his reflection- cerulean blue eyes stare back at him from a face with no cracks and white scleras.

 _'Let's get this over with'_ , he thinks and moves forward with only one goal in his mind- find the Kyuubi.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

He walks and walks and walks for what felt like ages but were probably only a couple of minutes, before stopping at a fork in the road.

The walls that surround him range from a depressing grey to an uplifting golden. Some look like they are about to crumble, others seem as sturdy as new metal.

He stops, takes a calming breath, and shakily exhales. He extends his senses to find the humongous mass of chakra that he identifies as Kyuubi and moves to walk towards the path on the left when a voice calls out. It's desperate, seemingly in immense pain and alarmingly enough that of a young child.

The corners of his lips curl downwards and his stomach twists uncomfortably. The analytical part of him- the shinobi-the Hokage- tells him to not act like an idiot and move towards the left path where he can feel the Kyuubi's chakra radiating from, the humane part of him- the student- the mentor- the husband and the father scream disapproval. He hesitates.

A drop of water hitting water reaches through his mind like a gong. He doesn't have to think anymore, his choice has been made. He moves towards the source of the voice.

~~_**That was a mistake.** _ ~~

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

There is an ominous feeling hanging in the air. Something heavy, dark, and sinister that weighs down on your very soul and makes you wish to rush to your loved ones and ensure that they are indeed **safe** and **alive** and **with** you.

The path he is walking on is cold, so much so that his breath condenses and fogs.

The walls at the beginning of the path were a pale yellow. Now, mid-way they seem to have morphed into a shade of depressing stone grey. With occasional splatters of crimson here and there and marks which on a closer look chillingly enough seem like desperate scratches made by a young child – as if they were trying to _claw their way out_ \- in an obvious attempt to escape. A cold feeling fills his veins and he tries to ignore the anxiety that tears through him. This isn't going to end well.

The lights hanging from the crumbling ceiling make creaking sounds as if agreeing with him and sway in the non-existent wind. They continuously flicker on and off and cast moving shadows across his face. The icy water nearly reaches his shins here.

There is a noise. Faint echoes of a crying child bounce off the walls of the path ahead of him and strike a chord deep within his chest. His heart clenches painfully because he _recognizes_ that voice. Even if it's much younger than what he is used to hearing. His head snaps towards the source.

There, he sees a flash of blonde hair before it disappears around the corner, sounds of footsteps slapping on the pavement and coursing through the deep water and harsh breaths accompanying it.

He runs after her. His own footsteps silent in comparison to hers.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

He wades through the icy water that becomes steadily higher as more distance is covered and goes down the endless paths and twisting roads, determined to not lose her. His feet ache, his head throbs, and eyes burn. His pants and the lower half of his haori cling and stick uncomfortably to his wet skin. His breath comes out in short painful gasps but he ignores it all. 

_He is not going to lose her again._

More than once he felt as if he was running in circles. Coming across narrow paths and frustrating dead ends until he turns a corner and pauses. 

There is no water here, which is a welcomed relief, but what stops him is something else. 

The walls here... are different.

There are threads of pulsating gold interwoven with tendrils of oppressing darkness. They form small yet numerous patches in the drowning black, much like small islands do on vast ocean masses.

Something inside him warns him that touching the black mass is not a wise idea, and he complies.

There is a sniffle, a muffled sob- as if someone was desperately trying to not let out a sound, followed by a choked off whimper. 

He rushes forward and _finally_ \- he has finally found her.

She's a small thing and looks to be no more than 5 years old. Her body shudders with every breath that she takes. It shakes with the tears that wrack her tiny frame. Her head is bowed, her shoulders hunched and her face is cast in shadows. Her clothes are wet, dirty and torn and _too_ big. They cling to her bony shoulders and practically drown her small frame. Her hair is short and matted in blood and dirt and she is curled up defensively with her knees pressed to her chest and her small fingers clutching her wet shorts in a bruising grip.

 _"Naruko?"_ he breathes out horrified. Because, _what happened to you? Who did this to you?_ His vision blurs, chest throbs, and wetness pools in his eyes. He reaches out a hand- pale, shaking, and trembling- towards her, but before he can touch her, there's a 'whoosh'- the sound of air being rapidly displaced, and nine gigantic tails shoot out from the path that he just came from. They wrap themselves around him and _yank_ him away.

He struggles against his binds and feels like screaming because _that's my daughter there!_ and _I can't leave her!_

But the tail firmly wrapped around his mouth effectively stops him from voicing out his thoughts.

He continues to struggle as he is rapidly pulled back, down twisted roads and narrow passages, turning around sharp edges and looping pathways but just before they completely exit the place he sees it-

A flash of red irises on pitch-black scleras and a childish high pitched giggle before the entrance of the path is obstructed by thick steel bars rising from the ground and reaching up, up, and _up_ before disappearing above.

Locks and chains form across the cage sealing it shut.

A shiver of dread goes down his spine that raises goosebumps on his skin and makes the hair on his back stand on the edge. That was **_not_ **Naruko.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

He is unceremoniously dumped in front of the cage which holds back the demon fox.

Red eyes glare at him in utter hatred, disgust, and some other emotion that he is unable to decipher. Revulsion is practically radiating off the fox in waves.

With a harsh growl, the beast retreats his tails toward him on the other side of the cage. His entire form is hidden in shadows, making only the blood-red irises visible in the dark.

 **"Yondaime"** , the Kyuubi -Kurama? - snarls, but his eyes are solely focused on the path from which he had dragged the man's sorry ass back.

**"Don't go anywhere or touch anything as you please, this is kit's mind. One wrong move, because you were unable to satiate your insufferable curiosity and you risk the chance of permanently damaging it."**

Minato grinds his teeth and bites back a scathing retort. Standing up he glares at the Bijuu. His face is pale and a heavy feeling has settled itself on his chest. The feelings of fury and despair simmer under his skin warring to burst out and destroy his facade of tight control. He knows his efforts were for naught when he only receives a mocking raised eyebrow in return.

 _" **Who** was that child?"_ he asks- no- demands, fear claws at his insides and renders him frozen.

The Bijuu smirks down at him, a cruel glint entering the searing crimson orbs as it opens its maws and answers in a bored drawl.

**"Oh, that? Well _, that_ child was none other than Naruko."**

_"You are lying."_ He immediately denies it.

 **"Well, I assure you I have nothing to gain by lying to you and _that_ child was indeed Naruko. She is a part of the kit, that's bottled up along with all the other..."**,here the Kyuubi pauses, and his lips pullback in an expression resembling a frown. An emotion flicks through his eyes too fast for him to catch.

**"...unpleasant memories, thoughts, and emotions. Kit prefers to call her Yamiko (child of shadows)."**

Minato feels his entire being tremble. An acrid taste builds up at the back of his throat. He wants the Kyuubi to just shut up. He wants to scream and scream and _scream_ until his throat burns, till his voice turns hoarse and still continue screaming, to drown out the Bijuu's words and its implications because if what the beast is saying is true, then that means-

 **"In my opinion, Naruko is suffering because of you."** Kurama's gruff voice resonates deep inside him. And there is no masking the utter hatred and anger that practically drips off his tone.

His words are like acidic vitriol and Minato can't bring himself to deny them. A lump has lodged itself in his throat, preventing any words from coming out. Forcing him to _listen_ to what the bijuu wants to say. 

**"You and your misguided faith in human emotions and your foolish idealism. You of all should have known that humans are fickle in nature. How easily they can turn against their own and blame others for their suffering and mistakes."** Kurama ended with a snarl, disgust shining in his ruby-red orbs.

**"At least Kushina for all her recklessness and idiocy had the sense, to ensure a contingency plan..."**

But Minato doesn't hear the last line. For there is a heavy feeling in his chest that seems to weigh down his very soul, a roaring in his ears, horror in his eyes, and tears streaming down his face and only one thought in his mind.

_ 'Kami-sama, what have I done?' _

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Third Person Pov:

16 days before graduation. 08:30 hours. Sunday. Naruko's apartment.

Outside the seal

Naruko wakes up with a start. Her limbs tremble faintly and cold beads of sweat cling to her forehead.

Something has changed. She can feel it deep in her bones.

She tightly grips the ends of her threadbare quilt and bites down on her bottom lip to ground herself.

She takes a deep breath, holds it for 10 counts, and slowly releases it. Repeating the process again and again till her limbs stop trembling and her heart rate reduces to what is considered as normal. After all, working oneself into a panic attack the first thing in the morning is too damn troublesome.

Sighing softly, she presses her lips into a thin line and adjusts her position on her bed till her back rests against the wall. Straightening her spine, she sits in the lotus position and closes her eyes, trying to reach into a state of calmness, just like how Uncle Shikaku had shown her.

_//"Listen to my voice." Uncle Shikaku said slowly and deeply._

_"Follow it down...Let it carry you deep inside...There is nothing around you...there are no feelings...there are no smells...there is no darkness and no light...It is silent for all but my voice...You float in this void...You are safe and happy and warm... There is nothing to fear... You exist...You are aware but have no thoughts..."//_

Several minutes pass by and eventually, her breathing slows and deepens. She sits still, her face completely lax and blank, and eyes closed.

All her troubles, fears, and worries take a backseat and her surroundings fade away.

Next, she reaches inward. Deep inside her where the glowing orb of chakra or sun as she likes to call it resides.

When she opens her eyes, she finds herself at the entrance to a forest that could have been picked up from within Konoha, with a rich blue sky and yellow-white sunlight dappling the ground.

The difference is that the tree trunks here are slimmer with youth, the leaves green-gold with nature's first bloom, and the scene picturesque with new life.

The forest exudes a sense of playfulness and welcome- as if beckoning her to explore. And that's exactly what she does. With a small smile playing on her lips she walks ahead.

The trees become taller and older as she walks on. As ancient as the boughs of Forest of Death, but serene and protective wherein their counterparts were baleful and foreboding. Fruits and berries glitter like jewels among the branches and leaves.

The path unfolds like a twisting crooked and serpentine puzzle. Clouds, branches, and leaves marr the fallen light, until shadows of foxes, crows, beetles, and toads are glimpsed lurking in the treeline.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finally, the trees break into a meadow of flowers, and there in the center of her meadow is a huge lake or rather her chakra pools.

She knows that a human being can only have one chakra pool, and the fact of her having three had always simultaneously fascinated and terrified her.

She knows she is different from the other children. Had realized it quite early and quickly.

She had seen it and still sees it in the way people stare at her. Either with pity or hatred in their eyes. The way their gazes scrape against her like needles and knives. She sees it in the way their lips twist when they speak to her- if they bother to speak to her at all- and she wishes sometimes they didn't, because it feels like the words demon and monster are branded into her skin and she doesn't understand what she has done to deserve this-

But she is different in other ways too.

Hair too bright. Eyes too blue. Enhanced hearing. Sensitive nose. Marked cheeks and sharp teeth.

And there is the itch too- something under her skin, an energy that writhes and howls. Something hot and uncomfortable which presses against her insides like it wants to burst her open.

If she had to describe it she would say that it feels a searing red in comparison to her serene blue chakra or the soothing pastel yellow chakra that washes over her and quells the red chakra whenever the itch becomes pronounced or makes itself known.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The red chakra, it scared her. Terrified her. Whatever it was in her, it wasn't like everyone else.

She knows it in her bones, knows that no one else has three chakras like her, especially one which feels so dark and angry and dangerous, that sometimes she feels like puking.

When the villagers look at her, she understands that it has something to do with that red chakra.

At first, she had hated it. If it wasn't there then maybe her parents would be alive, maybe they would have loved her, and maybe she wouldn't have been hated by everyone.

But then there are moments, where she can feel the energy submerge itself in sorrow, a throbbing ache of loneliness and desperation. There is misery in it which is so achingly familiar, that she just can't hate it after all. Not when it is like her, filled with a painful need to feel love and be loved in return. To escape that chasm of solitude.

So she learned to compromise. It was through trial and error, that she had realized that the energy ** _loves_** freedom and nature. Just like her.

Which made it less terrifying.

So, whenever the energy gets restless, she goes to the forest. The feeling of wind rustling through her unruly locks, of listening to the chirping of little insects and the feeling of earth under her feet always seem to calm it down. And sometimes, when she concentrates hard enough, she swears she can feel a happy hum coming of it. Which makes the entire task worthwhile. Not that she is complaining after all the forest calms her down as well.

The villagers call her demon. Sakura and the other girls call her an animal. Shikamaru calls her Fuuko (Child of wind).

[She loves the last one, but personally she likes to think of herself as 'A Child of Nature'.]

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

When she reaches her chakra pools she notices a few glaring differences right away.

The pools are much larger than what they have been in years, and the red chakra pool looks to be about twice its original size.

She slowly approaches the red pool with hesitant steps and when the pastel yellow chakra doesn't come like it always does to stop her, she decides that it is safe enough to proceed ahead. 

On a closer look, she finds that the red chakra pool doesn't look so red anymore. Or rather it looks golden with shifting undertones of royal ruby red -not bloodthirsty crimson with pitch-black tendrils- that sparkle through whenever the waters move or sunlight hits the surface of the pool. 

There were quite a few black tendrils still present, however, they seem to be in the process of turning gold.

And when she focuses on the energy, she realizes with a start, that it-no- _he_ feels happy. Content and at peace in a way he had not felt in years.

She bites at her bottom lip in contemplation and turns towards the other two pools.

The blue pool and the pastel yellow pool seem to be in the process of merging, which is strange. 

For, despite being much smaller than either of the remaining pools, the pastel yellow pool is much stronger than the other two pools and has always acted like a barrier and a bridge between the blue and red pool. Only allowing a trickle of red to enter the blue pool when the necessity arose and holding back the remaining excess red chakra.

But then again the red pool wasn't so red anymore...

The part of the yellow pool that had merged seems to transform into beautiful white koi fish with violet and pale yellow highlights on their body, and a single red dot at the top of their heads. Their tails and fins are white in color. They seem to be brimming with energy and have a playful, yet protective aura around them, swimming and playing alongside each other in the blue pool. 

There was one fish though, which was blue in color with yellow and light green highlights on- his?- body, his tails, and fins were white in color. Despite being the odd one out, it has a peaceful air around it which seems to either annoy or captivate the white koi fish. But that doesn't matter to her.

She slowly approaches her blue pool and tentatively dips her hand in it.

It feels nice and warm, and when the fish come near her and nibble at her fingers she feels a rush of joy, safety, and _something_ warm and fuzzy rush through her leaving her feeling giddy with happiness. So much so that a single tear drops down her marked cheeks. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the end, when she opens her eyes to the real world, she concludes that something has indeed changed deep within her, but whatever it is, it is a good change. And for the first time in forever, she feels at peace with herself. 

**Author's Note:**

> All the credit goes to Masashi Kishimoto.
> 
> No pairings besides Minato/Kushina and Shikaku/Yoshino.
> 
> Slow updates!
> 
> This fanfic will be a collaboration between my ideas and the works of other fellow, 'Wattpad', 'Fanfiction' and 'Archive of our own' writers. When I will do this I will make sure to mention the fanfic from which the text/references were taken.
> 
> So fellow authors if you see that a paragraph or so has been taken from your works please don't get offended. I would be doing so only to convey my imagination to the fellow readers through words from your fanfic's.
> 
> I would like to ensure you, fellow authors, that if I use your text then I will make sure to mention you and not claim your works as mine.
> 
> \----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> The lines from -
> 
> //"Listen... to ...eyes closed. were taken from the fanfic 'Broken Mind, Fractured Soul' by SensiblyTainted'.
> 
> entrance to a forest... to ... her meadow- were taken from the fanfic 'Threads of Fate' by'Madrigal-in-training'.
> 
> Had realized it... to ...her open. were taken from the fanfic 'Gold Dust' by 'Child-OTKW'.
> 
> At first... to ...chasm of solitude. were taken from the fanfic 'The Ghosts of the Past' by 'AD7309'.
> 
> They were edited and changed by me according to the requirements of the fanfic.


End file.
